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posted by takyon on Sunday July 31 2016, @09:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the and-another-suit dept.

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro Edition Will Have Some Group Policy Settings Removed

For their forthcoming Anniversary update, Microsoft have decided to remove some Group Policy settings from all editions of the operating system except for Windows 10 Enterprise. These Policies affect your ability to control "Cloud Content", "Personalization", and "Windows Store".

The corresponding Registry keys for these policies will also be removed. Manually adding those keys back into non-Enterprise editions of Win10 will have no effect.

Looking at the list of Policies to be removed, many home/power users of this operating system will almost certainly be up in arms and annoyed at this move, but it seems they are just innocent bystanders in a bigger game/pressure-tactic Microsoft is playing out with the corporate and business world.

Unfortunately for home/power users, purchasing a license to use the Windows 10 Enterprise edition is all but impossible. Divorcing from the MS Windows ecosystem may end up being the only palatable option for many such users.

Here is the list of Policies to be removed:

  • Cloud Content  >  "Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences"  --  personalized recommendations from Microsoft ...notifications about your Microsoft account.
  • Cloud Content  >  "Do not show Windows tips"  --  may see contextual popups ...Microsoft uses diagnostic, telemetry and usage data to determine which tips to show.
  • Personalization  >  "Force a specific default lock screen and logon image"
  • Personalization  >  "Prevent changing lock screen and logon image"
  • Personalization  >  "Do not display the lock screen"  --  before signing in, users will see their selected tile and must dismiss the lock screen using touch, keyboard or mouse drag.
  • Store  >  "Disable all apps from Windows Store"  --  turns off launch of all apps from Windows Store that came pre-installed or were downloaded; also will turn off Windows Store.

[Continues...]

Microsoft faces two new lawsuits over aggressive Windows 10 upgrade tactics

Submitted via IRC for Runaway1956

Microsoft is facing two more lawsuits over the company's questionable Windows 10 upgrade tactics. Both suits are seeking class-action status.

The first suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Florida. It alleges that Microsoft's Windows 10 upgrade prompts "violated laws governing unsolicited electronic advertisements," as reported by The Seattle Times . The suit also says Microsoft's tactics are against the Federal Trade Commission's rules on deceptive and unfair practices. The second suit was filed in June in Haifa, Israel alleging that Microsoft installed Windows 10 on users' computers without consent. Microsoft already paid out a $10,000 award in a previous U.S. suit over similar circumstances.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/3101396/windows/microsoft-faces-two-new-lawsuits-over-aggressive-windows-10-upgrade-tactics.html


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2016, @02:13AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 01 2016, @02:13AM (#382446)
    According to this [intel.com] it is perfectly possible to install many flavours of GNU/Linux or OpenBSD on a NUC. Apparently you can even run OS X on one, though the lack of drivers for some hardware is a pain. Not sure where edIII gets the notion that you can't do it. Linux/BSD installs are not officially supported by Intel but when has the lack of official manufacturer support ever deterred anyone? Only official disapproval and anti-user "protection measures" are any deterrent, and sometimes not even then [soylentnews.org]. As long as the manufacturer isn't actively fighting to prevent you from getting the OS of your choice running on the hardware you buy for them, you should be good. The lack of drivers is generally the only major obstacle but this does not seem to be true for the NUC [intel.com].
  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by edIII on Monday August 01 2016, @03:15PM

    by edIII (791) on Monday August 01 2016, @03:15PM (#382640)

    What you linked to is a complete fucking lie. I've spent hours trying to install every fucking flavor of everything from that list on that worthless piece of shit (DN2820FYKH). It's MS only, so it's been sitting gathering dust since I bought it. It's 1 trillion percent locked by Secure boot, and none of those flavors listed will work on it. If your OS isn't directly signed by MS, then it will not install. So yeah, I could probably get Redhat working, but that's because they now suck Microsoft's cock for it.

    As far as I am concerned, it was bricked by Secure Boot leaving the factory, and I won't buy Intel again unless I can see a lot of evidence online (including how-tos and videos showing it is possible) of it working. Basically, if that hardware isn't referenced by the distribution itself as something that can support it, I won't fucking buy it.

    Don't ever assume Linux/BSD will run on an Intel anymore. It's a very unsafe and expensive assumption.

    --
    Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.
    • (Score: 4, Informative) by Aiwendil on Monday August 01 2016, @05:13PM

      by Aiwendil (531) on Monday August 01 2016, @05:13PM (#382699) Journal

      Ehm, did you read the page about proper bios/uefi-settings? (and made sure you used a new enough firmware, it was shipped with 0015 originally, and didn't support other OSes until 0025)

      DN2820FYKH happens to be the model my mom uses, and she runs ubuntu just fine on it.

      • (Score: 2) by edIII on Monday August 01 2016, @07:14PM

        by edIII (791) on Monday August 01 2016, @07:14PM (#382763)

        Ubuntu got on its knees and sucked Microsoft's cock for the signed keys, that's why. They got on their knees early in the game. Ubuntu is infected with systemd anyways, and I've never liked Ubuntu. I meant to say a Linux distribution without it, or even possibly a BSD variant. Ubuntu was never an option for me, and I was looking for headless actually to use as an embedded device for a project. Gentoo and OpenSUSE were listed, and those were options I was willing to use at the time.

        Yes, I spent a good deal of time researching the proper bios and uefi settings. Also, yes, I made sure about the BIOS updates. The release you mentioned happened in Feb 2014, so I know I have at least that high for the BIOS revision without checking (purchased and updated in late 2014). I even spent a lot of time trying to install different flavors not listed in the supported operating systems, but nothing would ever boot. Except Microsoft, that will boot, which is exactly what was intended.

        I'm too tired and busy to sue them/bomb a building or whatever. I just don't purchase Intel direct anymore, and support projects like Purism instead. Death to secure boot, or Microsoft-Only-Boot.

        --
        Technically, lunchtime is at any moment. It's just a wave function.